2018年英语四级阅读理解题库：神童与教育

2018年英语四级阅读理解题库：神童与教育

　　Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers if the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world's greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. "It is very clear," he told me. "They were all Jews(犹太人) and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage. " As a result, every Jewish parent's dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West. ?

　　Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values

　　excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. "In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours. " says Isaac Stem, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War Ⅱ, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese. ?

　　That's a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work,

　　biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

　　这是一篇说明文，以演奏小提琴的神童为何在19世纪末和20世纪初的俄国和东欧出现和最多为例，说明了导致神童产生的原因。

　　1.Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school

　　because ______ .

　　A) it would allow them access to a better life in the West

　　B) Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

　　C) they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

　　D) it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

　　2.Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______ .

　　A) enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence

　　B) treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

　　C) encourage people to compete with each other

　　D) promise talented children high positions

　　3.Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______ .

　　A) all-round development. B) the learning of Western music

　　C) strict training of children D) variety in academic studies

　　4.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

　　A) A natural gift. B) Extensive knowledge of music. C) Very early training. D) A prejudice-free society.

　　5.Which of the following titles best summarises the main idea of the passage?

　　A) Jewish Contribution to Music. B) Training of Musicians in the World C) Music and Society D) The Making of Prodigies

　　参考答案及解析

　　1、[答案及分析]：[A]事实辨认题。问为什么在东欧的犹太父母希望他们的孩子进音乐学校文章第一段对此作了明确回答：那时候犹太人在那些地方受到压迫和歧视。他们不被允许进入诸如医生、律师等职业领域，但允许在音乐舞台表现出色。因此，每个犹太父母都梦想让孩子进入音乐学校，因为那是通往西方的护照。理解了这些内容后，显而易见答案为A项。

　　2、[答案及分析]：[B]句意理解题。问文章中提到的nurturing societies指的是一种什么样的社会。文章中论及nurturing societies(培养天才的社会)的内容在第二段。第二段第一句就是nurturing society的定义：a society that values excellence in a certain field and is able to nurture talent.A项意思与此相同，不过是换了一种提法而已。

　　3、[答案及分析]：[C]归纳事实题。问文中认为日本是一个重视下列哪项事情的国家。A项意为“全方位发展”。B项表示“学习西方音乐”。C项是“对孩子的严格训练”。D项意为“学术研究的丰富多样性”。文章第二段说：“In Japan,a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours,children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields.”据此不难判断出C正确。

　　4、[答案及分析]：[A]事实辨认题。问文章认为下列哪项有助于音乐神童的出现。文章第三段说：“Next to hard work,biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy(除了勤奋，遗传因素在天才的成长中起着重要作用)”。A natural gift的意思跟biological inheritance相同，所以A正确。

　　5、[答案及分析]：[D]主旨题。问下列哪个标题最能概括本文的主要思想。全文主要讲的是形成天才的因素，所以D项合适。